site.btaNGOs, Businesses Call for Regulatory Framework, Support for Volunteers in Bulgaria

Representatives of non-governmental organizations and businesses called for a regulatory framework for volunteer work and measures to support both volunteers and enterprises during a roundtable on volunteer work in Bulgaria and state support for volunteers. The discussion was opened Monday by Deputy Prime Minister Atanas Zafirov. The forum was organized by the Council for the Development of Civil Society, chaired by Zafirov.

Miroslav Tsekov from National Youth Forum Bulgaria said that volunteering fosters solidarity and humanity in society and is often present where it is most needed. “Volunteering creates a better living environment in our country and is frequently the first step toward socially beneficial activities. In most civil organizations, volunteers are the driving force enabling changes in lives, policies, and entire sectors,” Tsekov added.

“The state cannot manage everything, and where it falls short, volunteers step in,” said Lazar Radkov, founder of the Caps for Future initiative. He said that while volunteer legislation has been proposed since 2022, defining the role of the state is complex and requires a gradual, multi-year process. According to Radkov, there should be regulation allowing volunteer agreements under simplified procedures to avoid overburdening organizations. He also suggested that volunteers should be granted 2-3 days of paid annual leave to participate in real volunteer initiatives.

In his opening remarks, Atanas Zafirov called the forum "important, urgent, and timely" and said that one of the bills to promote volunteer work was submitted by him and a group of MPs on November 13, 2024. On April 17 of last year, the National Assembly considered the proposal at first reading, along with two other bills submitted by two other parliamentary groups – GERB-UDF and Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria. The three bills shared one common goal - to create a clear, stable, and fair legal framework for volunteer work in Bulgaria, Zafirov said. He noted that afterwards, a working group was supposed to be formed to prepare a unified draft law to be considered at the second reading in Parliament.